The council has been given a £3.9m cash boost to make sure a variety of housing projects go ahead in Plymouth.

Projects to build on parcels of land across the city, which could see up to 650 extra homes built, have been given funding from the government to get off the ground.

This includes land at Colin Campbell Court and Bath Street West, where demolition work has already started taken place, but also on other sites across Plymouth, including a derelict allotment site in Lipson.

Deputy council leader Patrick Nicholson said securing the funding essentially means these projects will be made a reality.

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He said: "Lots of these [plots] have been identified for a while, but most haven't properly got going. But now the funding is in place they will progress.

“A lot of these sites have been derelict for years and need some investment in order to make them ready for developers. This includes demolishing old buildings, creating the right infrastructure such as roads and providing utilities.

“We know people want to make sure we use brownfield sites as we can before looking to build on fields, these projects do exactly that.”

The money has come from the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government to help unlock the land for development.

The Land Release Fund supports 79 projects across the country to build and will inject £45m into key community projects to support building up to 7,820 new homes nationally.

In Plymouth, the successful bids will release lands for homes by March 2020, enabling publicly-owned land and buildings to be used more efficiently and deliver real benefits to communities across the country.

Cllr Nicholson, cabinet member for strategic transport, housing and planning, added: “We are particularly pleased to see the criteria to receive this funding we had to show value for money, innovation and the contribution to wider government housing objectives.”

In Plymouth the schemes are:

Land at Prince Maurice Road

The council bought the derelict allotment site last year (Image: Sarah Waddington)

The old set of allotments were bought by the council last year after being derelict for seven years.

The former Lipson allotments at Prince Maurice Road had planning permission agreed in 2009 for 74 houses and flats, but nothing has happened with the site since.

The council bought the 1.6 hectare site from The Jinkins Trust to allow for a mixture of new houses including starter homes alongside other affordable homes to buy and rent.

This forms part of the council’s Plan for Homes, launched in 2016, in which the council will create a Land Acquisition Fund to buy stalled and lapsed sites so more new homes can be delivered across Plymouth.

Colin Campbell Court

(Image: Penny Cross)

The site is set to be transformed into a mixed use redevelopment with more than 300 homes around Colin Campbell Court, with 25 per cent expected to be starter homes.

The plan also includes shops, cafes and studios, with car parking and “attractive public open space”.

It is envisaged the new development will include buildings of four- to five-floors in height, with the current car park transformed into a courtyard.

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Bath Street West

How Bath Street could look as part of the Millbay Boulevard (Image: Plymouth City Council)

Buildings have already starting to be demolished along Bath Street to make way for a “vibrant” mixed-use boulevard.

Plymouth City Council is investing £3million into a scheme first suggested by Barcelona architect David Mackay in 2003, when he called for the city to embrace its relationship with the sea once more and reconnect with its waterfront.

Workers and machinery moved on site in October 2016 and began knocking down the former Kier Construction offices, between Bath Street and Martin Street, in Millbay.

Cllr Nicholson said negotiations "are still underway" with property owners in the vicinity, and they "need to be resolved" before work can progress.

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Stirling House, Honicknowle

Several vacant and dilapidated Plymouth buildings are set to make way for more than 60 new homes in 2019.

Stirling House and Honicknowle Clinic, the former Sure Start Nursery on Ham Green and the former North Prospect library will all be demolished in preparation of building works.

A number of self-build housing opportunities for former service families as well as single veterans in housing need, alongside other homes for sale and rent, are already planned for the sites.

Following the award-winning Nelson Project, Plymouth City Council has teamed up with partners at Plymouth Community Homes, Form Design and charity Community Self Build Agency for the scheme. A further 12 homes will be built at Ham Green with a further six on the site of the former library at Greatlands Place.

Stirling House on Honicknowle Green is set to be demolished and a number of self-build housing opportunities for former service families, as well as single veterans in housing need and other homes for sale and rent, will be built in its place.

Efford Health and Wellbeing Hub

A network of wellbeing hubs is to be opened across Plymouth giving families easier and earlier access to health advice and support.

The hubs will offer information and support on a range of issues such as health and wellbeing, finance, employment and mental health, with some offering more specialist support in areas where it is most needed.

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The Plymouth City Council and North Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group initiative aims to make is easier for people to get advice by providing it in places they are likely to be visiting anyway.

It is hoped that enabling more people to get the right type of help earlier will ultimately reduce pressure on social care and health services.

The plans, which are to be considered by elite councillors on January 16, include opening three types of hub depending on the needs of each community.

Corporate Asset Release Programme– a number of smaller parcels of land that have been grouped together

Cllr Nicholson said on these sites a contribution will be given by the council to "facilitate housing".

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